Be The Hope

I am and will forever be amazed by the stories in the New Testament. How amazing it must have been to see Jesus heal a blind man! Can you imagine the crowd's response when Jesus fed thousands of people with just a few fish and a few loaves of bread?!?!  Or, what about the time he brought Lazarus back from the dead.  I said BACK FROM THE DEAD!! If I would have been standing in that crowd I'm not sure what my response would have been, but I bet you I would have been filled up with HOPE by witnessing the amazing miracles. Jesus seemed to have left behind hope most everywhere He went, even when He wasn't performing miracles.

Hope is a great thing to leave with others. We all need hope. Without hope we are all in trouble, but where there is hope there is life. There's a lot of things we can do while we're on this earth, but I think the best thing we can do is to mimic Jesus and leave behind hope as we walk life's path.

Are you leaving behind hope on your life's path? Do you leave others feeling refreshed and encouraged, or do you leave them in a mess?  These are great questions - particularly for those of us that call ourselves Christians. 

If you're unsure on how to leave hope behind, let me offer these suggestions:

1. Stop and pray for someone that's having a bad day. I always feel better when someone has prayed for me and over me. It reminds me that my hope is in God and His plans for me are good.
2. Give someone a hug. Look for someone that is having a bad day and just hug them. I love a good bear hug. It puts a smile on my face and hope in my heart.
3. Say a kind word to someone that is stressed. When someone encourages me by saying, "You'll do better next time", or, "I loved what you wrote" it gives me hope to keep on keeping on. Hope abounds where there are kind words of encouragement!
4. Remind someone of a favorite scripture. One of my favorites to hear is Jeremiah 29:11 because it reminds me God has great plans for me, but there thousands of good scriptures in the Bible that would interject hope into one's life.
5. Listen. Did you know listening is one of the best things you can do for someone? There are times that I just want to be heard, and then once I'm heard I feel so much better.

There are lots of ways to spread hope.  I'm sure you can think of more ways than the above list. Why don't you go out and be the hope in someone's life today?

Jesus - help us to remember to remind the world around us that there is hope in You. I love that Isaiah 40 teaches us that if we hope in You, You will renew our strength and we will soar like eagles. I love You and the hope You give. In Jesus' Name ~ Amen.

For a deeper study:

• Read Isaiah 40: 28- 31.  Record in your journal how this makes you feel.
• Read Luke 19: 1 - 10. Record in your journal what you think Zacchaeus must have felt that day? Do you think there was hope?
• Make a list of the verses in the Bible that give us hope. Look for ways to share the scriptures with others in the coming week. Journal what God teaches you through this process of pointing others to hope in Jesus.